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Twomey for Senate? No thanks!

Many Mainers are still down from the Patriots loss this past weekend to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship game. Tom Brady looked out of character throughout, throwing only one touchdown pass while being intercepted twice in the contest.

Nobody will question if Brady should be replaced after this performance, given his pedigree at the helm of the New England offense for over a decade.

Fortunately, voters in Biddeford will have the opportunity to elect a state legislator with an arm just like Brady’s. Her pedigree, however, is a little more questionable over that span.

Joanne Twomey, former Democratic Mayor of Biddeford, is best known for hurling a jar of Vaseline at Governor Paul LePage during a budget presentation at Thornton Academy in Saco last April. Yesterday, Twomey announced her run for the District 32 Senate seat in Maine, currently occupied by David Dutremble, who announced he won’t be running for re-election this November.

Twomey’s iconic throw was inspired by an off-color and inappropriate (but still rather amusing) one-liner by Governor LePage directed at Sen. Troy Jackson of Allagash, saying that Jackson “claims to be for the people, but he’s the first one to give it to the people without providing Vaseline.”

Although her actions were a result of the Governor’s astonishing diction, what should truly take your breath away is how premeditated her actions were.

If you watch video of the exchange between Twomey and LePage, it isn’t until she’s being ushered out by the Governor’s security team that she tosses the Vaseline on stage. I think it’s fair to say that, regardless of which topic LePage and Twomey disagreed upon at the event that day, Twomey attended with the intent of throwing Vaseline at our governor.

Not only did Twomey react ridiculously, she showed no remorse for her actions, remaining unapologetic even days after the incident played out.

Twomey has had a difficult time being elected as of late, failing to find a seat in her last few attempts at holding public office. This is hard to believe, especially considering how “adored” she seems to be by members of her community. If her recent actions in the video above are in any way telling of what her conduct would be as a public official, Governor LePage could have some serious competition by the end of the year.

Even though the Maine Democratic Party denounced Twomey’s actions last April, saying obscene things about Paul LePage (or in this case, throwing Vaseline at him) is surely a way to gain political traction among liberal voters in Maine. For legislators in some districts, merely opposing LePage’s rhetoric or stance on policy issues is enough to get elected.

It will be fun to watch how the typical hypocrisy among liberal voters and liberal officials plays out this November. Will the same crowd that condemns Governor LePage’s behavior back a candidate that arguably acts more absurdly than he does?

I hope not. The last thing Augusta needs is another out of touch, partisan politician.